Tulip's eye
by chquine-harvinellisse
Summary: A days isn't just complete without her to pester him around. (A sequel of sorts to Delightify)


**I do not own League of Legends or anything associated to it...**

**The story and plot is mine... XD**

* * *

There is something wrong.

The clatter of the Champions gathered in the halls of the Institute of War is a normal occurrence so he shrugs it off. The long walk to the Champion Platform is another normal thing. The Noxians are holding their arrogant heads high, the Demacians are hating them for many reasons, the ones from Piltover are silently and unconsciously brandishing their inventions and Yordles like him are minding their own businesses.

Everything, as far as he is possibly concerned, is normal.

What is wrong then?

Veigar looks around; that was new. He never had the need to look around and search when out of the Rift.

Maybe that is what's wrong.

He never had to look around and search when not in the Rift because he's always been alone up until lately. Despite his nonchalance and disregard to normal societal standards, he found someone—or rather someone found him with an insanity-compatibility.

And that's where it clicked.

"Where is that flying Yordle-girl?" He asked out loud. He'd been acquainted with the Fae Sorceress not long ago and yet he still insists on calling her by his initial pet name for her. Lulu never protested though.

He expects her to come in the halls, mounted on her wand and flying like she always does, with a loud cackle and her whimsical words echoing through the otherwise silent walls. Other Champions would find it endearing and to others–like Veigar–it was quite annoying.

He never admitted it and maybe he doesn't realize it himself, but Veigar likes hearing her obnoxious voice despite its annoying feature.

And currently the absence of her voice is a bit unnerving. Hearing her voice is one of the other not-quite-normal things the Tiny Master of Evil has become accustomed to.

And that's another thing that's wrong.

If he remembers correctly, Lulu's room is close to Orianna's. The former has been providing company to the dejected Lady of Clockwork.

He scans the crowd for any sign of the mechanical Champion. When his eyes catch sight of something gleaming, he heads towards it. It slipped his mind that it could be Blitzcrank who'd reach for the Yordle with an extending arm and crush him in a mechanical death-hug. Thankfully, it's Veigar's intended target.

"Clockwork Lady!" He yells unceremoniously.

Orianna stops and turns to Veigar, her gaze down on him because of the obvious height difference. "Veigar," she says in a cold and mechanical tone. "Is there something you require?"

"I demand you tell me where that despicable Yordle-girl is." He says bluntly. Everyone knows that the two eccentric Yordles are friends, perhaps to the same extent as normal friends are. But the way Veigar addresses his friend is completely unconventional and at one point insensitive. When it comes down to Lulu though, she doesn't mind.

For some reason she doesn't mind that Veigar is both evil _and_ insane.

And some Summoners and Champions alike still have to wrap their heads around the fact that _the _Veigar has a friend _and _it is known by all.

"You perhaps mean the powerful Yordle by the name of Lulu?" She inquires.

Veigar huffs. "I wouldn't look for any other Yordle-girl."

"This morning, at 0730 hours I knocked on her door and offered to go to the platform together," Orianna explains. "But I received no response. I assumed that she has come here beforehand."

"But she isn't here now is she?" He says sarcastically, lacking politeness that would have made a normal person turn on his heel and leave him completely clueless.

"I lack the sufficient data of Lulu's whereabouts." With that Orianna turns on her heel and leaves.

The nearly non-existent rational part of Veigar tells him to head to the dorms and check on Lulu, but the dominant part of his mind, the one that's evil and insane, is telling him that she'll show up eventually, which doesn't really make sense considering all he thinks about is domination of Valoran.

Regaining his usual persona, Veigar walks off to his platform placed in between Vayne's and Vi's. A bell tolls in the distance, but in reality its Summoner magic used to announce the sending out of Champions. A blue summoning circle surrounds the Champions and they're all transported out of the Institute of War.

* * *

A blue summoning circle surrounds Veigar and he finds himself back at his platform in the Institute of War. Champions start to head for their dorms—or if not, just somewhere to relax, complaining about how they were overused or underused or about how utterly useless their Summoners were, or how their matches were too long.

As for Veigar, he drowns out the annoying noises with a flick of his finger. It's a trick he's learned along with everything else that's become almost like second-nature. Now every Champion looks like they're just moving their mouths and not making a sound. Pleased, Veigar starts for his room.

And then suddenly, something is wrong again.

He looks around again. There's something wrong but he can't put his finger into it. He knows he's figured that out before. And then it clicks again: there's something missing in the scenery. To be _very_ specific, there's a _color_ missing from the palette of the dull halls.

_Purple…_

There's too much gray and too less purple.

"Where _is_ that annoying Yordle-girl?" He muses out loud. He didn't see her in the matches. He didn't see her in her platform when he clandestinely passed by. He barely saw any trace of her whimsical imagination brought to life by a twitch of her staff.

He looks around, scanning for a large hat or a tip of a wooden staff. But to his unrealized dismay, there's not even a trace.

He decides to visit her room for a change. But he looks around warily. There are various eyes in the Institute that are studying his every move, probably to make an issue that neither deserves the attention or the time of the evil Yordle. He scans for Orianna and sees her heading to the outside of the Institute. All the other Champions that are close to Lulu's room are conveniently leaving the Institute for their own pathetic entertainment.

Of course he could always go in through the window or his other unconventional ways.

"Could that annoying girl have stayed in her room all day?" He muses as he starts off for Lulu's room.

And then he shakes his head.

"No," he chants. "I don't care about that Yordle-girl. She's just a friend. She's the one who cares and not me. I'm evil; I don't give a flip."

He continues chanting the last sentence until he comes to the dimly lit halls of the dorm area. Doors with metal plates containing the name of the Champions that reside in them fill the flame-lit halls. Some doors are more outstanding than others, ranging from varnishes, floral arches, golden rims and other whatnot: a proof of their increasing vanity.

Reaching the door of the Yordle he's looking for, Veigar stops. He considers simply going in or blasting the door open. Manners and right conduct is the entire contradiction of Veigar. But he's recently considered to be minimally polite. Being impolite was one of the things that Lulu first recognized in him after all.

So he knocks and waits.

After a few seconds he repeats due to the lack of response. Not being one to be made to wait, Veigar banged his fist on the door.

It's either she's sleeping or just ignoring him.

And the thought of being ignored irks Veigar. She's his friend after all. Don't friends open their doors for another when waiting? She isn't being a good friend then.

Not that he is, or he'd bother to admit that to himself.

"Open the door this instant!" He demands. "I demand entrance!"

Still there is no response; not even a shuffle is heard. Veigar continues his not-so-polite charade until a fuse finally snaps. He takes backward steps and points the tip of his staff at the door. "I will _not_ be ignored, you annoying Yordle-girl!"

With a blast, the wooden door explodes into splintered pieces. The metal plate lands on the stone floor with a clang and suddenly this extremely grand entrance is not really a good idea especially at this time of the night. Surprisingly though, no one has come rushing in to arrest him or subjugate him.

What's more surprising is that even after her door has been obliterated, Lulu is still nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, Veigar steps into her room, examining everything. He's been in her room before when she offered to help with his evil plans and ended up playing a game of hide and seek; involving the entire Institute.

Her room has only a bed and a desk where she usually sits on to, as she puts it, think. To the side is her closet, filled with clothes of different bright color schemes. At the windowsill is a pot of a flower cultivated and maintained with magic. Beside the closet is another door — the bathroom door.

"I'm not in the mood to play hide and seek with you," he said menacingly though he knows that trying to threaten the Fae Sorceress is useless. She was never afraid of him anyway.

He checks under the bed. She is not there.

He looks under the desk. She is not there.

He opens the cabinet and moves the hanging clothes. She is not there.

Peering inside the pot, Veigar feels stupid for even thinking that she could be hiding there.

"You annoying Yordle-girl, where are you?" He says loudly. Frustration is starting to make itself evident and Veigar, for one, is not a fan of frustration, especially if it comes from Lulu. He considers her to be on his side after all.

Finally, Veigar turns to the bathroom door. He places his hand on the knob and turns it. To his surprise, the door is locked. He points his wand at it again and blasts the door to oblivion.

The situation before him makes his yellow eyes widen.

Lulu is on the ground, unconscious. Pix is nowhere to be found. From her usual purple shade, her skin is now hued with a sickly hue of lavender.

He would have checked if she's cold, but the metal encasing his hands make it quite impossible. Veigar reaches for her neck instead. Despite the dense metal covering the entirety of his hand, he feels a faint pulse.

Moving quickly, he takes standard measures. He pats her cheek and calls her name in a voice bordering in between authoritative and worrying. "Wake up. I command you to come to your senses and wake up."

She stirs a bit and her eyelids flutter open a bit. Relief, one that Veigar will never bother to admit, fills him. She looks up drearily at him and asks, "Why are you here?"

Annoyance takes the place of his relief as he replies, "I came here to check your well-being! You should at least be thankful, you annoying Yordle-girl."

Lulu groans. "I'm dizzy…"

Sighing, Veigar slings her arm behind his shoulders. "I'll bring you to the healer."

Managing a small nod, Lulu mutters, "Thank you…" before her eyes close again.

He executes a teleportation spell that brings them to the rune inscribed onto the wall beside the healer's door. Since it's considerably late, the healer might be slacking off. The diabolical part of Veigar's mind hopes that the healer decides to take it easy, then he'll have a reason to terrorize the poor man.

True to his assumption, the healer is on a hammock just outside his supposed clinic. With a small grumble, Veigar approaches the harmless hammock and says in a surprisingly calm voice, "Puny human, I am in need of your service."

The poor healer jumps off at the first syllable. He recovers quickly enough to address the evil Yordle. "Yes?"

"Hurry up and open that clinic of yours!" He demands, throwing a calm tantrum. "This Yordle-girl is in need of your healing."

Stuttering, the healer quickly ushers the two small Champions inside his clinic. It's different from most of the rooms in the Institute of War. For one thing, it's too bright and has too many beds, separated by thick white curtains. There's a desk and some chairs, like a normal clinic.

The brightness makes Veigar uncomfortable though. He climbs one of the small wooden stairs at the side of one of the beds, careful not to jostle Lulu too much. He puts her down on the white bed, with a gentleness that he never knew he possessed.

Without Lulu to keep him from making this healer feel fear, Veigar points the glowing tip of his staff to the healer and says in an even voice, "Make sure she is taken care of and brought back to her room safely. If that doesn't happen, you'll find yourself replaced."

The chair where Veigar is standing on makes him taller and all the more intimidating. Nodding, the healer gulps and Veigar hops off the chair to leave the too-bright clinic.

He spares Lulu one last glance before he closes the door behind him and teleports himself to the nearest wall-inscribed rune to his room. Try as he may, he can't help but worry about Lulu.

It's different from when Lulu saved him from death through the turret. She didn't do anything from him and yet he's worried because she's hurt. The feeling of wanting to look after her—even without obligation or thoughts of reciprocation—is still present and very strong.

It feels so foreign and yet it feels so nostalgic. It's like everything Lulu is. It's like everything else she's put into place since he met her.

Again he shakes his head and chants his mantra to bed.

* * *

The next morning, the usual routine of heading to the platform is threatening to make Veigar scream. There's just too much senseless banter and too little chuckles and giggles. He could easily tune it off but he's on the watch for Lulu's grand entrance. He has to admit, a day without annoyance is not one of the welcome surprises in his list.

"Let's go Pix!"

At the sound of that, Veigar smirks, though no one sees because of the obvious height difference and the concealment provided by his robes and hat. Some Champions stare as the Fae Sorceress makes her grand entrance on her staff and coloring the otherwise gray walls with shades of rainbows in shapes of several fauna.

With her around, the Institute looks less like a den of dangerous individuals.

And to be honest Veigar likes it. As a Yordle, he isn't too fond of lively colors, but they're infinitely better than cold and dark walls.

She spots Veigar and swoops down to him.

"Good morning!"

"You're too loud, purple girl," he complains. He doesn't admit it out loud, but he missed her.

And somehow she knows. She doesn't know why, but she does.

"Everything is too taut here," she whispers.

"That's the way it has to be," he tells her, irritated. "Now move out of my way! More pressing matters require my attention."

She smiles at him and gets off her staff. Cupping her hand to her lips, Lulu says, "I have something to tell you though."

"Whatever it is, it can wait!" Veigar shouts as he makes a move to pass through the Fae Sorceress in front of him.

"No it can't!" She insists. "I need to tell you, _now_."

"I have no time for dilly-dallying!"

"But it's important!" Lulu whines.

"What's more important than conquering Valoran?" He retorts. It has nothing to do with his argument, but who cares really?

"I'll be quick I promise…" she says.

Sighing, he gives up. It's hard to resist Lulu during the rare times when she's pushy. "Fine," he crosses his arms. "Say your worst and make it quick."

She takes a deep breath and says with a wide smile, "Thank you for last night, Veigar."

He expected her to express her gratitude, but he never thought that hearing her sweet voice laced with her signature whimsical tones would be such a difference from what he imagined.

"You should be careful though," she adds. "Never look a tulip in the eye." The last sentence is a whisper, as if it's a secret only meant for him,

At this Veigar snorts. It was a brief moment, but Lulu's gratitude is appreciated nonetheless. "You're mad, purple girl. A tulip has no eye!"

She shushes him and says, "I'm serious. Tulips are capable of magic."

"That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard from you," he waves her off and continues on towards his platform. "Tulips capable of magic…" he mutters silently.

Lulu groans in frustration. "I looked into a tulip's eye and it unleashed dark magic on me."

"That sounds completely preposterous. You should stop wasting time and head to your platform," Veigar says. Although the thought of tulips using dark magic is something he could use to his advantage. If only he'd learn to use them, then he could finally gain something against Teemo.

Lulu looks behind her and panics. "I need to go!" With that she gets on her wooden staff and zaps off, sparing Veigar a single wave and a smile as she reaches her platform. Pix converses with her and it's the only time the Tiny Master of Evil noticed the fae since last night.

Veigar shakes his head as he walks towards his platform. He'll have to ask Lulu about the tulips later. That new information will prove to be useful especially for his purposes.

Who'd suspect an innocent tulip anyway?

"The Tiny Master of Evil won't be affected by such a cheap trick," he nods to himself as he gets on his platform. Vi and Vayne exchange confused glances but have no chance to pry further as the bell tolls and the blue summoning circles transports them to the Fields of Justice.

* * *

**I'd like to thank Vitalus whose story inspired me to get this over with... =D**

**I don't really have much to say, but thanks for reading... XD**

**I hope I was able to express the inexplicable feelings of Veigar well. I tried to describe it at best I could... =D**

**Anyway please do leave a REVIEW expressing your deepest darkest thoughts regarding the fic as it is greatly appreciated... XD**

**See you in between pages again! **

**chquine_harvinellisse**


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